Broadway musical ‘Come Fly Away’ coming to PPAC

Tanairi Sade Vazquez and Ron Todorowski in "Come Fly Away."

Photo by Joan Marcus

Posted
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 1:00 pm

The new Broadway musical, “Come Fly Away,” conceived, choreographed and directed by Tony Award winner Twyla Tharp and by special arrangement with the Frank Sinatra Family and Frank Sinatra Enterprises, will open at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) Friday, March 2 through Sunday, March 4. Tickets for “Come Fly Away”are $65 - $38; all ticket prices include a $3 per ticket restoration charge and are subject to change without notice. Tickets are available at the PPAC Box Office, located at 220 Weybosset St. in downtown Providence; online at www.ppacri.org and by phone at 421-ARTS (2787).

“Come Fly Away” follows four couples as they fall in and out of love during one song and dance-filled evening at a crowded nightclub. Blending the legendary vocals of Frank Sinatra with a live onstage big band and 14 of the world’s finest dancers, the production weaves an unparalleled hit parade of classics, including “Fly Me To The Moon,” “My Way” and “That’s Life” into a soaring musical fantasy of romance and seduction.

The show’s score combines classic and newly discovered vocal performances from the Sinatra archives, along with Sinatra’s signature arrangements by Nelson Riddle, Billy May and Quincy Jones, among others, and brand new charts for this fresh innovative musical.

“Come Fly Away,” which premiered at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Ga. in September 2009 and opened on Broadway in March 2010, is the next and most elaborate chapter in one of the most fruitful collaborations in contemporary dance. Twyla Tharp’s creative relationship with the music of Frank Sinatra began in 1976 with the premiere of Once More Frank, a duet created for the American Ballet Theatre, performed by Ms. Tharp and Mikhail Baryshnikov. The collaboration continued with Nine Sinatra Songs, Ms. Tharp’s acclaimed piece for 14 dancers, which had its world premiere with Twyla Tharp Dance in 1982, and was followed by Sinatra Suite, a duet featuring Baryshnikov and Elaine Kudo, which had its world premiere in 1984 with American Ballet Theatre at the Kennedy Center. Sinatra requested that Sinatra Suite be performed when he received his Kennedy Center Honors Award, citing it as one of the purest expressions of his body of work.

“Come Fly Away” features scenic design by James Youmans, costume design by Katherine Roth, lighting design by Donald Holder, and sound design by Peter McBoyle. Additional arrangements and orchestrations are by Dave Pierce and Don Sebesky. Music supervision is by Dave Pierce. “Come Fly Away” is produced on tour by Nederlander Presentations, Inc., by special arrangement with the Frank Sinatra Family and Frank Sinatra Enterprises.

Discounted admission is available for groups of 20 or more; for more information and to order contact Group Sales Representative Paul Hiatt at phiatt@ppacri.org or call 574-3162. For additional information, visit comeflyaway.com or ppacri.org/events/detail/come_fly_away.